The Houston Astros have been decimated early in 2026 by the injury bug.
As of April 13th, Houston has six key players on the injured list. Those being: Josh Hader (RP), Hunter Brown (SP), Ronel Blanco (SP), Tatsuya Imai (SP), and Jeremy Pena (SS).
Hader, when healthy, is the team’s closer and one of the best relievers in baseball. Brown has emerged as the clear ace of Houston’s rotation and had a Cy Young caliber season in 2025. Blanco has been nothing but steady for the rotation since his breakout in 2024. Imai inked a big-time deal this offseason and joined the club from overseas. He was expected to make the Astros rotation one of the most feared in baseball. Pena has developed into quite possibly the secondary face of the franchise behind the large shadow cast by Yordan Alvarez.
The Astros’ rotation went from being presumably one of the better staffs in the sport to an outright weakness. The ‘ace’ of the staff is currently Mike Burrows, who was acquired from the Pirates ahead of the 2026 season.
Missing Pieces Lead to Inter-Division Losses
On April 13th, Burrows got the start against the division rival Seattle Mariners. The M’s have been one of baseball’s most disappointing offenses to kick off 2026. Star players Julio Rodriguez and Josh Naylor haven’t yet hit their stride. That changed today for the latter against Burrows.
In 6 innings of work, Burrows surrendered 6 earned runs on 11 hits. Not only was it a blow-up start, but it was against a reeling division rival. Naylor blasted two home runs, with one exiting at 113mph. When a team as formidable as the Mariners is buffering, it’s important to kick them while they’re down. Houston was unable to do so and ended up making the wrong kind of history in the process.
The Wrong Kind of History for the Astros
The Astros have lost 8 games in a row. The last time the Stros accomplished this feat was their grueling 15-game losing streak in 2013. In the last decade, Houston has been the closest thing baseball has had to a dynasty. It’s become a commodity to see the Crawford boxes full to the brim come ALCS time. Unfortunately for Houston fans, their dominance may be fading.
Young, blossoming players such as Cam Smith have done their darndest to keep the team afloat. Smith has a 158 OPS+ through 56 ABs in 2026. Even with newfound talent rolling in, it’s not enough to offset the talent that sits on the shelf.
The Astros’ record currently sits at 6-11. Even though it’s still very early, these proverbial ‘w-droughts’ can come back to haunt a team down the stretch. The Astros will need to make up ground sooner rather than later in a tough division.
With the Mariners’ continued improvement, the Rangers‘ mound prowess, and the Athletics’ near-unrivaled thump in the lineup, Houston no longer sits atop an uncontested podium. The AL West has quickly become one of the most competitive divisions in baseball. If the Astros want to reclaim their crown, they’ve got to stop the bleeding now.
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